Let me enter into today’s Upanishad verse. 17^th verse. Please chant along with me.

vāyur-anilam amṛtam athedaṁ  bhasmāntagṁ śarīram |

auṁ krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara  krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara || 17 ||

Please repeat.

auṁ krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara  krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara |

 vāyur-anilam amṛtam athedaṁ  bhasmāntagṁ śarīram |

auṁ krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara  krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara || 17 ||

I can say this is the Hindu way of approaching the Death. Please understand, this verse gives so many unsaid, deeper level of understandings.

vāyur-anilam amṛtam athedaṁ  bhasmāntagṁ śarīram |

auṁ krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara  krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara || 17 ||

Let the vital life-energy ‘Wind’ present in the body, now merge into the all-pervading, eternal cosmic life-energy; and now let this gross body along with subtle body, disintegrate into its basic elements and be reduced to the sacred ashes.

Please understand each of these verse are very important. The way Sanatana Dharma approaches Death it’s very clear, the body has nothing useful. It has no use after death, that is why they say, let it disintegrate – bhasmāntaguṁ śareeram. This verse declares about the need of cremation for Hindus. Why cremation in Hinduism? It is this verse shows the way why cremation in Hindu tradition, because – vāyur-anilam amṛtam athedaṁ. Let the ‘prana’ merge with the Cosmic Prana. bhasmāntaguṁ śareeram – let the body go back to its basic elements, no use! After you leave the body, it has no use; you don’t need this after that. If you want, you will have one more body. You will take a new body, but this itself is not required.

vāyur-anilam amṛtam athedaṁ  bhasmāntagṁ śarīram |

auṁ krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara  krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara || 17 ||

Please understand, the sacred secrets, truths about Life and Death, our Upanishadic Rishis know, is clearly presented in this verse. Body assumes its shape and it can go back to the basic elements. See the whole talk here it says very clearly—

Let the prana, vayu relax, merge into the Cosmic life, anilam; and let the body retire to the basic elements, become ashes. But you remember what all you did to become One with the Cosmos. Oh Cosmos, please remember, what all I did to reach you.

It means what: there is something beyond your life-force, prana and body, which is inside you, whatever THAT did during the Life, only THAT matters. Understand, there is something beyond your breath and your body, whatever THAT did during its existence, stay inside the body, only that matters. The individual consciousness, what was the context it was holding, and actions it was performing does not matter, only the context the individual consciousness was holding, matters.

The Sutra does not say – “Oh body, please remember all the charity you did. Oh body, you lived a sinless life, other than 10 nights, remember that. Oh body, how much of merit and good actions you did, how much of charity you gave for God’s organization, please remember that.” No. No! You are not asked to remember how much of good things you did, you are not asked to repent for the bad things you did. God saved you, you are not asked to do any confession. You are only asked to remember what all you did to achieve the Oneness and God has been requested to remember – what all you did to achieve Oneness.

auṁ krato smara kṛtagṁ – “O Lord, please remember, what all I did to achieve Oneness with You. Oh my Being, remember what all you did to achieve Oneness with Him.”

That’s all is worthy of being remembered in the last moment. Do not ever do, whatever sins you did, please repent for it, this is the last moment, and based on the sin, put charity. No. No!

We are not interested in the money of the fellow who is about to die. We are interested in the liberation of the fellow who is leaving the body.

A real Hindu priest will not stand next to the dead body and plan for harvesting his property. Asking him, “if you have done so much sin and if you give all this property to this, this people, all that sins will be forgotten.” A Hindu Guru can never do negotiation. The Upanishads does not teach you to remember sin or merit while you are dying.

It only asks you – “Remember what all you did to achieve Oneness with Him. Oh God, remember what all this being did to achieve Oneness with You.”

Both sides have been asked to remember whatever each did to achieve Oneness. The remembrance is all about what has been done to experience Oneness. The concept of Death, after Death, before Death. Before Death, what you need to do, during Death what happens, after Death what is Life, everything in this one verse.

See the boldness of Upanishadic Rishis. Sometimes I feel, Mahadeva’s breath is more beautiful than His words. I am not underestimating His words or disrespecting His words. His breath– Upanishads – are so beautiful, such pure Truths. Every time I remember Upanishads I feel so complete. Oh God! What a beautiful religion I have been born in and what amazing Truths  I have been told. Because who knows, if I would have heard, half-baked concepts, who knows? I would have started believing it and wasted this whole life. It is Upanishads, such big relief! Nobody is asking you to remember all the sins you did and repent for it. Nobody is asking you to remember all the charity you did and feel proud about it, as if you are having a visa for heaven – first-class visa, second-class visa. No. You are not even asked to remember to do Completion. No! Nothing is required.

You are just asked, “Aye, remember what all you did to achieve Oneness. Oh Lord, remember what all he did to reach Oneness with You”, that’s all.

I tell you, remembrance of the goal only is required during death, because all obstacles have already become useless to you. For example, if your money, bank balance, wealth, relationship, they were all only the obstacles, that you did not achieve Oneness, all of the have already become useless to you. When obstacles have become immaterial, nullified, all you need is just remembering the goal, nothing else.

krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara  krato smara kṛtaguṁ smara |

First prayer: AUM means: addressing Supreme Consciousness, Īśā. In this Upanishad, the word “Īśā” is used as addressing Supreme Consciousness. AUM– addressing the Supreme Consciousness and praying – remember what all I did, to become One with You. Telling your being, what all you did to become One with Him, that’s all. Because all the things which were obstacles–your ego, your body, your mind, your wealth, no vehicles is useful anymore. They won’t even let you get into your own car, they will only put you in an ambulance. You can’t sign in any check book. No! You can’t sign in any check book. All the things which were distracting you from staying in the space of Oneness, now has become useless. Now you don’t need to remember the struggles, you need to remember about the Goal. Anything else – repenting, guilt, everything will only remind you about the struggles. Understand, when the problems are there, you can remember about the struggles. Here the problems does not have any more power over you. Only a fellow who has died, knows this secret. I know for sure this Rishi achieved Enlightenment through Death experience. Only a person who walked the road can so clearly describe. Actually, the moment the pain of the Death starts in your system, everything becomes useless. Everything, everything becomes useless. Now, what is the point in talking about, thinking about something which is no more part of you. The only thing you need to remember is GOAL. The Goal.

Actually you will become the Being which you never imagined you you can be, by the time you reach the Death. It is not that you will have completion, or incompletion about your relatives, suddenly you will feel they are irrelevant to you, really I am telling you. The closest relationship you think will look almost unknown and irrelevant. Who is this guy? I don’t remember him, no really! It will become, the person will become irrelevant to you. At the most you may see Guru’s form, but not the way you related to Me externally, but the way you relate with Me internally with your Ātmamurti [inner deity present in the soul], that relationship will become Reality at that moment; not the way you relate to Me externally, but the way you relate to Me inside you as your own Ātmamurti. All other relationships, people places, objects, everything will become irrelevant. You will neither have completion nor have incompletion. For example: somebody who is living in U.S., if you ask them a question: are you complete? Or incomplete with the planet Jupiter and the people there living there? What will you say? Neither complete or incomplete, they are irrelevant. If somebody is living in Jupiter. Same way when the death pain starts, and you start moving, all the people with whom you lived will become irrelevant, the memories will become irrelevant. The only memory worthy of remembering at the time is –all you did to experience Oneness with the Cosmos, all you did to experience Oneness with the Cosmos, that’s all, that’s all.

krato smara kṛtagṁ smara – exactly this is what you go through during the death process in Inner Awakening. Even though there is one full Upanishad, Kathopanishad on Death, this one verse gives you the essence – the Hindu way of approaching death, how a Sanatana Hindu Dharmi approaches Death, what Death means for a Sanatana Hindu Dharmi? What death means for a Sanatana Hindu. This verse gives an introduction.